Designer(s) of the Month: Mary and Russel Wright

You guessed it, May's designers of the month are Mary and Russel Wright! While most people only think of Russel as the designer in the family, Mary was just as much as part of the process and inspiration behind many of the now iconic works that are associated with the Wright name. Today, I'm going to give a bit of an overview of the Wright's work, concentrating on more specific topics over the next 3 weeks.

*But first, a word about footnotes (feel free to skip this explaination and go right on to the good stuff if you'd like). Come from a design history background, I think that footnotes are a great way of including bibliographical information without taking away from what, within the text, the reader is concentrating on. So, as an art and design scholar, I know how important it is to give credit where credit is due, which is why I'm including footnotes at the bottom of my posts. Feel free to use them as a reference guide. And now, back to the fun stuff.*

Russel Wright in his studio. Courtesy of Russel Wright Studios.

Interior of Dragon Rock, the Wright's home. Courtesy of The Curated Object.

Wright's line of Residential Plastic Dinnerware, in salmon. Courtesy of The Curated Object.

So why should you care about Mary and Russel Wright? The Wright's revolutionized the American home, bringing us inexpensive, mass produced dinnerware, furniture, appliances, and textiles that were not only visually and technologically innovative, but that strove to bring the concept of "easier living" – a uniquely American lifestyle that was gracious yet contemporary and informal – to a wide audience.[1] They sought to improve people's daily lives, a concept that was a central to the mid-century modern idea of design as related to form and function within the home.

According to Donald Albrecht and Robert Schonfeld in their introduction to the book Russel Wright: Creating American Lifestyle (an important read for anyone who would like to learn more about the Wrights):

Collaborating with his wife Mary Wright, the team's marketing genius and his partner in conceiving their "easier living" philosophy, Russel disseminated his designs and ideas in exhibitions, books, articles, advertisements, radio interviews, and demonstration rooms in department stores. In all these enterprises, Russel and Mary converted his name and signature into a recognizable trademark on a par with major manufacturers. They invented lifestyle marketing centered on a compelling persona, paving the way for such lifestyle interpreters as Martha Stewart and Ralph Lauren. [2]

Next week, I'll talk more about the concept of "easier living" in conjunction with the Wright's best-selling book Guide to Easier Living. Week 3 will be about the Wright's designs for living, including dinnerware, furniture and textiles. Finally, we'll wrap up the month with images of Manitoga, the location of The Russel Wright Design Center and Dragon Rock, the Wright's amazing home.

[1] Donald Albrecht and Robert Schonfeld, introduction to Russel Wright: Creating American Lifestyle, ed. Donald Albrecht, Robert Schonfeld, and Lindsay Stamm Shapiro (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2001), 11.

[2] Donald Albrecht and Robert Schonfeld, introduction to Russel Wright: Creating American Lifestyle, ed. Donald Albrecht, Robert Schonfeld, and Lindsay Stamm Shapiro (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2001), 11.